Tillerson hit out at ‘moron’ Trump after speech: claim

Row: Rex Tillerson US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was given a “pep talk” after he called Donald Trump a “moron” it was claimed amid an ongoing row with the White House where he threatened to quit.

Vice president M ike Pence called M r Tillerson aside for a chat to ease his criticism and asked him to stay on board with the US President’s administration, senior officials reportedly said.

M r Tillerson had allegedly lashed out at a Pentagon meeting after the President hijacked his Boy Scouts of America speech and used it as a platform to deride his opponents.

Instead of championing good citizenship, he railed against the “fake media” and drew boos when he hit out at President Barack O bama for never speaking at the National Jamboree.

M r Tillerson, who once headed the Boy Scouts, had already been at loggerheads with the White House over policy and had been ready to quit before M r Trump broke tradition at the July speech.

The claims that he tonguelashed the White House chief came as a fresh war of words broke out between the pair in recent days over how the US should resolve the North Korea crisis.

M r Tillerson was in Texas for his son’s wedding when M r Trump addressed some 40,000 teenagers at the Boy Scouts jamboree, and threatened not to return to Washington, insiders told NBC News.

Butwhenhedidjetbackthere M r Pence called him aside for a “pep talk”, according to three unnamed officials aware of the dispute, and asked him not to quit until at least the end of the year.

In a separate meeting, retired General John Kelly, who would be named Trump’s second chief of staff, and Defence Secretary James M attis helped to cool him down, it was claimed.

“They did beg him to stay,” a senior administration official said, according to the NBC News report. “They just wanted stability.”

M r Tillerson’s State Department spokesman, RC Hammond, said M r Tillerson did not consider quitting in July. He also denied that he called M r Trump a “moron”.